Abbas 'will quit' if Hamas make job impossible

The Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas warned Hamas last night that he will resign if the group makes it impossible for him to carry out his duties as president. Mr Abbas has stated that he wants peace negotiations with Israel to establish a Palestinian state and that Hamas will have to abide by these rules if it forms a government.

In a television interview, Mr Abbas said he was concerned that "we could reach a point where I cannot perform my duty". If this happens, he said, "I will not continue sitting in this place, against and in spite of my convictions. If I can do something I will continue, otherwise I won't."

Yesterday Israel's acting foreign minister, Tzipi Livni, said that following Hamas's electoral victory Mr Abbas is already irrelevant. She told Israel Radio that Mr Abbas "can't be a fig leaf for a terrorist authority." She said Hamas must recognize Israel and renounce terror, and Abbas "in this regard is not relevant".

Mr Abbas, as president of the Palestinian Authority, has asked Ismail Haniyeh, a Hamas leader from Gaza City, to be the prime minister and form a government. Hamas won 73 out of 132 seats in the Palestinian Legislative Council in January. Despite their majority, Hamas leaders have said they want to form a national unity government with other factions including Mr Abbas's Fatah faction.

Mr Abbas has many powers at his disposal to prevent Hamas from implementing policies to which he does not agree. He has a veto on all legislation which can only be overturned by a vote by two-thirds of the PLC. Hamas controls just over half the seats. He also controls part of the security forces and can fire the government if it does not follow his programme.

Khaled Mashaal, a Hamas leader based in Damascus, said his organisation hoped to have a working relationship with Mr Abbas, who is also known as Abu Mazen. "We respect the [Palestinian] Authority and we are keen to cooperate and deal with Abu Mazen, but not if one party imposes its conditions on the other," he said.

At the inauguration of the PLC Mr Abbas warned Hamas that they must renounce violence, recognise Israel and honour past agreements. Although the Hamas charter calls for the destruction of the state of Israel, Hamas leaders have moderated their public statements.